Uncovering Social Dysfunctions: The Path to a Balanced Life
If you live in a conventional way, it is very likely that your environment is limiting your potential. Let's take a closer look at how the average person in our society lives. Observe their eating habits, routines, and physical, mental, and spiritual practices. Is the average person thriving on all these different levels? While some might, the majority are working 40+ hours a week in jobs they don't necessarily love, just waiting for the weekend to finally have some time off. This precious time off is often spent watching Netflix, partying, drinking alcohol, and eating junk food.
Because most of us live within this life dynamic, we've normalized behaviors that are detrimental to our well-being. For instance, alcohol is so integrated and normalized in our culture that those who recognize its negative impact on health and choose to stop drinking are often judged. If you don't drink, you've probably been in social situations where you're offered a drink, and when you decline, people either call you boring or assume something is wrong with you. How crazy is it that our society normalizes alcohol and cigarettes while neglecting to promote daily exercise? The average person is sedentary and consumed by work, leaving little time to take care of themselves and the fundamental areas of their lives. As a collective, we are completely unbalanced.
These are just a few examples, but there are countless others. In my own experience, the more I retracted and moved away from the conventional way of living, the more aware I became of these social dysfunctions. When I was immersed in the system, I sensed certain things didn't make sense, but I lacked the distance to truly see and act on them.
Today, I can say that all the major lifestyle changes I've made towards a more balanced life have been achieved by stepping out of the noise of culture, society, and family. There is no other way to gain clarity about who you want to become than embracing the hero's journey from Joseph Campbell. Listening to that calling, that intuitive part of yourself whispering that there is another way of living, that there is more potential, health, connection, purpose, and freedom out there.
Once we start taking action in the physical world, we quickly change inwardly. We begin to realize that many of our friends were kept as friends because we've known them for so long, but now we understand that we've changed. We don't have to keep the same friends forever; we can start attracting new friends who align more with who we are becoming. We start realizing how certain family members were not allowing us to discover who we are, seeing the manipulations, the problems, the toxicity. We see how consuming and detrimental it was to work a 9 to 5 job we hated. So many realizations occur once you step aside from the conventional path.
And this isn’t about becoming a hermit or moving to a mountain and not coming back. It's about learning to live in contrasts, going on that search outside your circle, having those experiences, and then coming back. But the difference is that when you return, you are a completely different person. You can engage with society, be in the same environment and circle you were before, but your internal world has changed. You are now aware of the elements of your circle that aren't conducive to your well-being, and you've acquired a confidence that allows you to hold your ground and not do things just to fit in. You become a more sovereign being. You have expanded your possibilities.
Maybe when you go back home, you realize that you don't belong there anymore, that the way people live and what they value doesn't match the new person you have become. And that's completely fine. It doesn't mean you can't share with people or stop loving them. In fact, you may be able to love them even more, especially if what you found on your journey is so valuable and fulfilling that you are now in a better place to love others.
The idea of this blog is to shine a light on how important our environment is. If you have an intuition that your environment is keeping you small, just like I did, I encourage you to move, to go on that journey. That journey may be different for each of us, but the point is to live outside the confines of your circle—your family, your friends, your environment. You might discover that an entire world is waiting for you to fulfill your wildest dreams. And maybe, just maybe, your circle is the best environment for you to thrive as a human being. But you can only know after having the experience. So, why not embark on your hero's journey?
Much love,
Matias